A Study on Immersion and VR Sickness in Walking Interaction for Immersive Virtual Reality Applications

Jiwon Lee,Jinmo Kim,Mingyu Kim

doi:10.3390/sym9050078

Abstract

This study analyzes walking interaction to enhance the immersion and minimize virtual reality (VR) sickness of users by conducting experiments. In this study, the walking interaction is composed of three steps using input devices with a simple structure that can be easily used by anyone. The first step consists of a gamepad control method, which is the most popular but has low presence. The second step consists of a hand-based walking control interface, which is mainly used for interaction in VR applications. The last step consists of a march-in-place detection simulator that interacts with the legs—the key body parts for walking. Four experiments were conducted to determine the degree of direct expression of intention by users in the course of walking interactions that can improve immersion, presence, and prevent VR sickness in VR applications. With regard to the experiments in this study, survey experiments were conducted for general users using the Wilcoxon test, a presence questionnaire, and simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ). In addition, the technical performance of the VR scenes used in the experiment was analyzed. The experimental results showed that higher immersion was achieved when interactions that felt closer to real walking were provided in VR. Furthermore, it was found that even control methods with a simple structure could be used for walking interactions with minimal VR sickness. Finally, a satisfactory presence was found in VR if the user was able interact using his or her own legs.

Highlights

Virtual reality (VR) enables interactions that satisfy the five senses of users— the visual, auditory, and tactile senses—in order to provide an experience similar to reality
A haptic system was developed around the hands, which are frequently used in interactions in a virtual environment
Experiments were conducted to analyze methods to enhance the immersion and minimize the VR sickness of users, focusing on walking among various interactions required for VR applications

Summary

Introduction

Virtual reality (VR) enables interactions that satisfy the five senses of users— the visual, auditory, and tactile senses—in order to provide an experience similar to reality Through these senses, immersive VR systems allow users to experience where they are, whom they are with, and what they are doing as if it were a real experience. In order to improve presence in virtual reality, a user’s visual sense should be satisfied by sending three-dimensional visual information to the user Devices such as head mounted displays (HMDs) and 3D monitors are used for this purpose. In order to maximize user immersion, realistic interactions with VR objects and backgrounds should be provided by detecting user behavior and motion These motions can be classified into hand-based motions such as gestures using the fingers, holding, pushing, and throwing objects, or leg-based motions such as walking on the ground.

Methods

Results

Conclusion